Jenna Ushkowitz | |
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Ushkowitz at the San Diego Comic-Con International in 2011
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Born |
Jenna Noelle Ushkowitz April 28, 1986 Seoul, South Korea |
Alma mater | Marymount Manhattan College |
Occupation |
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Years active | 1989–present |
Home town | East Meadow, New York, U.S. |
Jenna Noelle Ushkowitz (/ˈʌʃkəwɪts/; born April 28, 1986) is a South Korean-born American actress, singer, and podcast host. She is known for her performances in Broadway musicals such as The King and I and Waitress, and Tina Cohen-Chang on the Fox comedy-drama series Glee.
Ushkowitz was born in Seoul, South Korea; she was adopted at the age of three months and raised in East Meadow, New York. Ushkowitz was raised Catholic (her surname originates from her adoptive paternal grandfather, who was of Russian Jewish descent). She attended Parkway Elementary School and Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, a Catholic school in Hicksville, Long Island known for its strong theater department.
During high school, Ushkowitz appeared in several musicals, including the first-ever high school production of Les Misérables. Her other roles included Penny in Honk!, Inez in The Baker's Wife, Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods, and Romaine Patterson in The Laramie Project. Ushkowitz graduated from high school in 2004 and moved on to attend Marymount Manhattan College, where she once again took the role of Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods. She graduated from Marymount Manhattan in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in theatre arts, with a concentration in performance and a minor in musical theatre.